Tom Jarriel
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Thomas Edwin Jarriel (pronounced "Jair-ell," with a silent "i"; born December 29, 1934, LaGrange, Georgia) is an American television news reporter who has worked for the ABC television network since the 1960s.
Jarriel grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and attended the University of Houston in Texas, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1956. After first working at Houston television station KPRC, he joined ABC in 1965, working out of the network's Atlanta headquarters. While there, he first attracted notice for his coverage of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr..
Shortly afterward, he became White House correspondent for ABC, during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Later, in 1979, Jarriel joined the network's newsmagazine 20/20, as an investigative correspondent. On that show and on several hour-long documentaries, he covered subjects such as the defects in the American criminal justice system, wasteful spending by the U.S. military, and transportation accidents. He received several Emmy Awards for his work.
During most of that time, Jarriel anchored the 15-minute bulletins ABC aired late nights on Saturday and Sunday, until those broadcasts were cancelled in 1991. He served as substitute anchor on World News Tonight at times as well.
Jarriel continues to contribute occasionally to ABC News broadcasts. He resides in Edgewater, Maryland, outside Washington, D. C.
